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MSP HIGHLIGHTS DEPOSIT RETURN SCHEME BENEFITS

DRIVING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

MSP for the Angus South Constituency, Graeme Dey, has welcomed the Scottish Government’s publication this week of wide-ranging social and economic benefits to the proposed Deposit Return scheme for drinks packaging.

According to impact assessments, the scheme will give industry, business and individuals the opportunity to drive sustainable economic growth while reducing their impact on the environment.

Deposit Return encourages people to return to stores, increasing trade and creating jobs, while securing a new source of high-quality material.

It is also expected to reduce the £46 million of public money spent each year on removing litter and flytipping, while the carbon savings are anticipated to be the equivalent to taking 85,500 cars off the road.

Commenting, Mr Dey said:

“Scotland was the first part of the UK to announce a deposit return scheme, and progress on its development is now well underway. I am very pleased with these projections around the impact of the scheme.

“As well as increasing recycling and reducing litter, Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will additionally serve to further develop our recycling infrastructure, provide a new source of high-quality material and boost stores’ footfall – all creating jobs in the process.

“Angus South will benefit along with the rest of the country from the SNP Scottish Government’s ambition to drive the circular economy, transforming our approach to the production and use of raw materials – with greater consideration for the environmental impact.”

Jill Farrell, Chief Operating Officer, Zero Waste Scotland, said:

“Putting a 20p deposit on bottles and cans places a value on the packaging and gives people an extra incentive to look after it. Because the glass, plastic and metals will be captured separately, the quality of the materials will be high, allowing them to be recycled over and over again.

“By turning bottles into more bottles, and cans into more cans, we can get the best economic return on our resources and reduce the damaging emissions that are contributing to the global climate emergency.”

Ken McLean, Operations Director, Changeworks Recycling, said:

“Scotland has really ambitious waste reduction targets and the introduction of a deposit return scheme is a step in the right direction to increasing recycling rates.

“Separate collections are much more effective than mixed recycling at achieving the high quality and capture levels required to build and support the circular economy and make sure that no economic or environmental opportunities are missed.

“Deposit Return is a high quality recycling initiative that demonstrates Scotland’s action on tackling the global climate emergency.”